Recent Posts

5801

General Software Discussion / Re: Wikidforum - New forum software with wiki and CMS support

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 10:49 PM »

Proof by contradiction:

You had to spend all that time typing up that long response. It took you so long that you even went for a cigarette break. All I had to do was click "Mark -> Ignore Topic."

Q.E.D.

5802

Developer's Corner / Re: DC needs a fun game project that multiple people can contribute to

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 10:43 PM »

And lets not forget puzzle games. The Incredible Machine, Chu Chu Rocket, Lemmings, ... Uh... and others. Those are pretty easy to add content (levels) that could help create a community.

5803

Developer's Corner / Re: DC needs a fun game project that multiple people can contribute to

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 10:29 PM »

Also sim games, where you can build a world or city or house or country or whatever. What kind of games allow you to create things that you enjoy showing off? What kind of games have things in them that interest you enough to want to see someone else's creations?

5804

Developer's Corner / Re: DC needs a fun game project that multiple people can contribute to

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 10:24 PM »

Yeah, RPG is probably a bad idea. But what about other smaller-scale projects?

Platformer, racing games, Metroidvania (kind of a platformer), Adventure (think Zelda), etc.? (FYI I'm thinking of all of these as 2D games)

5805

Developer's Corner / Re: DC needs a fun game project that multiple people can contribute to

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 10:14 PM »

The thing I like about TD games, is that they're relatively easy to extend.  Creating an RPG or RTS will involve a lot more effort for someone wanting to casually contribute a small chunk of the game, and therefore discourage people from contributing.   I'm going to throw together a simple base Tower class, and a Slow Tower, which should demonstrate the ease of extensibility for a TD.

-kamahl (January 19, 2011, 10:08 PM)

Sure, it's probably fairly trivial to add a new kind of tower or enemy type in a TD game, but the hard part is in the balance. Some problems that plague TD games are that (1) you could beat them using just one or two kinds of towers. (2) One strategy worked on every level. (3) Or another problem I've seen a lot is with the difficulty (which also has to do with balance, IMO). You'd be doing great for 86 waves and then suddenly it became impossible.

5806

Developer's Corner / Re: DC needs a fun game project that multiple people can contribute to

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 09:59 PM »

Well, I may be misinterpreting what mouser means, but it is my impression that he is talking about a game with a community. I don't mean to sound negative, but documentation, help, tutorials (which are pretty much the same thing), as well as level/tower/enemy design don't make much of a community. An editor of some kind would probably be good, but I think a TD game would have to have some great elements and strategy to it to make a lot of different levels worthwhile.

I guess what I'm saying is, even though I really like TD games I don't see the genre as necessarily fostering a big community where everyone can play and contribute and enjoy. Does anyone have any other suggestions for what type (genre) of game to make?

Actually, before we all rush in and clamor for a TD game (or a game of any genre) maybe we should have a bit of a discussion first to better define the goals for the project so we can choose a genre that will best suit those goals.

5807

Developer's Corner / Re: DC needs a fun game project that multiple people can contribute to

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 09:43 PM »

In what way(s) could people contribute to a tower defense game? Obviously coders could help program, artists could make graphics, and musicians could help with music or maybe sound effects, but in what other ways would someone be able to contribute to a TD game?

5808

General Software Discussion / Re: Unlocker punishes you for not installing toolbar.

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 09:28 PM »

It didn't for me I've always wanted to be punished by a software application!

-scancode (January 19, 2011, 06:50 PM)

Now there's gotta be an idea for a new NANY app in THAT comment!

-timns (January 19, 2011, 08:38 PM)

Perhaps you could whip up something for us…

-cranioscopical (January 19, 2011, 09:27 PM)

I was probably already bombarded with ads and had to wait 30+ seconds before I could even download the installer.

-Deozaan (January 19, 2011, 09:21 PM)

But didn't you know that:

-timns (January 19, 2011, 09:27 PM)

Finish your sentence! The suspense is torture!

EDIT: What the? No graphics appeared when I made this reply until after I posted...   I could have sworn the quoted text didn't even include the attachment stuff... So I've edited to make it look like what it was when I posted.

5809

Living Room / Re: Robert Kiyosaki Is Predicting A $6,000/oz. Silver Price In The Next Couple Years

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 09:27 PM »

Of course he is. I saw him on video trying to upsell silver a few years ago. At that time he said he was no longer buying silver because he already bought a ton of it.

Sounds like someone buying a bunch of stock and then trying to increase demand on that stock to raise the price so he can sell when it's high.

5810

General Software Discussion / Re: Unlocker punishes you for not installing toolbar.

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 09:24 PM »

yeah i have to say, i think having to wait 30 seconds doesn't seem like an unreasonable thing.  it's a bit similar to the DC approach to license keys.  i do not like these bundled toolbars and wouldn't include them with my apps, but i can imagine putting a 30second delay in an installer for non-donators and asking people to consider donating.

-mouser (January 19, 2011, 09:17 PM)

I would much rather look at a 30 second countdown timer that says "If you like this software, please take the next 30 seconds to consider donating to this project." than to be punished for choosing not to install bundled malware.

5811

General Software Discussion / Re: Unlocker punishes you for not installing toolbar.

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 09:21 PM »

Yeah, perhaps a bit cynical.

But also come on, developer makes an app in his free time and includes the bing toolbar in the hopes of getting some revenue. Then you get angry when he asks you to wait 30 seconds after opting not to support him. There is a definite hint of the "entitled" generation here

-Eóin (January 19, 2011, 08:53 PM)

I was probably already bombarded with ads and had to wait 30+ seconds before I could even download the installer. Then when I decide I don't want the malware toolbar on my PC I have to wait longer? I don't think it's EVER a good idea to force people to wait to install your program once they get their hands on it.

Who knows? Maybe I would have liked it so much that I'd have made a donation to him. But because of that stupid trick I'm never going to use it again and I'm definitely not going to recommend it to anyone else.

It didn't for me I've always wanted to be punished by a software application!

-scancode (January 19, 2011, 06:50 PM)

Not sure why it didn't for you. I got it from Cnet. Here's a screenshot of the countdown timer:

5812

General Software Discussion / Unlocker punishes you for not installing toolbar.

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 06:34 PM »

I recently was having trouble renaming a file because Windows said it was in use when it wasn't, so I downloaded Unlocker which I've used before and has been recommended multiple times here on DC.

The installer asked me if I wanted to download the Bing toolbar, and when I unchecked the box it disabled the "next" button and started a 30 second countdown timer before it would let me continue the installation.

I cancelled the installation and used LockHunter instead.

5813

Developer's Corner / Skynet meets the Swarm: A fascinating article about AI.

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 05:54 PM »

We’re gathered in a conference room on the Berkeley campus, the detritus of a LAN party scattered around us. The table is covered with computers and pizza, and there’s a game of StarCraft projected on the screen. Oriol Vinyals, a PhD student in computer science, is commanding the Terran army in a life-or-death battle against the forces of the Zerg Swarm.

Oriol is very good—one-time World Cyber Games competitor, number 1 in Spain, top 16 in Europe good. But his situation now is precarious: his goliath walkers are holding off the Zerg’s flying mutalisks, but they can’t be everywhere at once. The Zerg player is crafty, retreating in the face of superior firepower but never going far, picking off targets of opportunity and applying constant pressure.

Then Oriol makes a mistake. He moves his goliaths slightly out of position, just for a few seconds. It’s enough. The mutalisks react instantly, streaming through the gap in his defenses and making straight for his vulnerable workers. By the time Oriol brings the goliaths back to drive off the mutalisks, his workers are wiped out and his resource production is crippled.

Oriol makes a desperate, last-ditch attack on the Zerg base, trying to break through before the mutalisks are reinforced, but it’s too late. One after another, his goliaths get ripped apart by the Zerg defenses. As a new wave of mutalisks emerges from the Zerg hatcheries, he has no choice but to concede—to the computerized AI that just defeated him.

There's a palpable air of celebration in the room; even Oriol is grinning. He was just beaten by the Berkeley Overmind, an AI agent that our team in the room spent the past few months working on. The Overmind is our entry into the 2010 StarCraft AI Competition, and after dozens of test matches, it has finally defeated our human StarCraft expert for the first time

-http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/01/skynet-meets-the-swarm-how-the-berkeley-overmind-won-the-2010-starcraft-ai-competition.ars/

Click to view article.

I'm no expert in AI, nor am I very good at StarCraft, so I don't really have anything to add to the conversation. I just found the whole thing fascinating.

5814

Living Room / Re: Post Your Funny Videos Here [NSFW]

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 05:30 PM »

This one is making me laugh so much tears are coming out of my eyes:

http://icanhascheezb...ideos-cat-jump-fail/

This video is a perfect analogy of what it's like to be mouser and try to do something cool in Worms: Reloaded.

5815

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: $20 Amazon Gift Card for $10 (USA Only, Jan 19 only)

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 04:19 PM »

I tried to use your referral link, but that didn't work- it only worked when I went to the non-referral link. sorry...

-wraith808 (January 19, 2011, 03:03 PM)

That's okay, thanks anyway.

Thanks.  Let's see if it works out.  Used your referral link, btw.

-cthorpe (January 19, 2011, 01:27 PM)

Thanks!

5816

Living Room / Re: Post Your Funny Videos Here [NSFW]

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 04:15 PM »

And this is exactly why you should never text and drive!

5817

Living Room / Re: Miss America Hates Wikileaks, Might Be An Idiot =D

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 02:06 PM »

Apologies in advance to my American friends 

http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE

Though of course we have no way of knowing how many smart people they had to edit out 

-katykaty (January 17, 2011, 02:02 PM)

Poor Australia. Or was it Korea? Or was it France? Or was it Austria? 

5818

Developer's Corner / Re: [ActionScript 3/Adobe Flash] Play a sound when user clicks button?

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 01:55 PM »

It's been a few years since I used Flash, but I think you can import a sound file to your library from the File -> Import menu. As for linkage, right click the file in your library and look for a "linkage" option. It may be in the "Properties" menu.

For more specific help, I suggest you check the help file since I'm sure it would cover importing sound files and library linkage.

5819

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: $20 Amazon Gift Card for $10 (USA Only, Jan 19 only)

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 01:51 PM »

Nothing surprising mind you, just the usual concerns of yet another company having your email address.

-JavaJones (January 19, 2011, 01:37 PM)

Yeah, I created a throwaway e-mail for the site.

5820

Developer's Corner / Re: [ActionScript 3] Play a sound when user clicks button?

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 01:26 PM »

I don't know for sure, but it looks like the sound file might be defined in the MySound1 class.

5821

Found Deals and Discounts / $20 Amazon Gift Card for $10 (USA Only, Jan 19 only)

« Last post by Deozaan on January 19, 2011, 12:17 PM »

Click for deal.

The fine print:

The Fine Print
Limit 1 per person, no gifting allowed • Amazon.com Gift Card does not expire • Voucher purchase is valid for US-based customers only • LivingSocial Terms and Conditions apply • The Amazon.com terms and conditions set forth below are deal specific terms that supersede any inconsistent terms in the LivingSocial terms and conditions. • Amazon Gift Card cannot be purchased with Deal Bucks.
Amazon.com Terms and Conditions
*Amazon.com is not a sponsor of this promotion.
Amazon.com Gift Cards ("GCs") sold by LivingSocial, an authorized retailer of Amazon.com Gift Cards. Amazon, Amazon.com, Amazon Kindle, the Amazon.com logo, and the Amazon Gift Cards logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. GCs may be used only for purchases of eligible goods on Amazon.com or its affiliated website Endless.com. GCs cannot be redeemed for purchases of gift cards. Except as required by law, GCs cannot be reloaded, resold, transferred for value, redeemed for cash, or applied to any other account. See www.amazon.com/gc-legal for complete terms and conditions. GCs are issued and ©2011 by ACI Gift Cards, Inc., a Washington corporation.

EDIT:

Full disclosure: I found out after posting this that I can give a referral link to get my deal for free. I've updated the link to use that referral. If you don't want to use the referral link, you can still get the deal here:

5822

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: Baby Cody arrives in Berlin, Germany

« Last post by Deozaan on January 18, 2011, 05:42 PM »

The tailor also said she is going to embroider a simplified c-base logo on the vest. But for now, here is how he currently looks:
 (see attachment in previous post)
After the logo is done, I'll pick him up and then we can go on all the adventures I have planned!

-housetier (January 17, 2011, 08:25 AM)

This image has been photoshopped. I can tell by some of the pixels (just above Cody's tail) and from having seen quite a few shops in my time.

5823

DC Gamer Club / Re: Aurora (PC Indie Game) Free for a limited time

« Last post by Deozaan on January 18, 2011, 08:31 AM »

I just looked at the FAQ:

What inspired the game?
      Aurora was inspired by games such as Eufloria and Galcon.

-http://www.emcneill.com/aurorafaq.html

I guess I was right.

5824

DC Gamer Club / Re: Aurora (PC Indie Game) Free for a limited time

« Last post by Deozaan on January 18, 2011, 08:27 AM »

I personally don't find techno to be calming or relaxing. It's energizing.

From the description and the video it looks a lot like Galcon and/or Eufloria.

Still, for the current price, it's definitely worth checking out.

Thanks for the heads up.

5825

Living Room / Re: What Do You Think About ANONYMOUS?

« Last post by Deozaan on January 15, 2011, 11:25 PM »

But I'll hold off on sending champagne and flowers for now.

-40hz (January 15, 2011, 04:31 PM)

Not like you'd know who to send them to anyway.